Battle of the flags for China visit
By Dominic Casciani
BBC News community affairs
It was a curious battle of flags, complete with a British tolerance for the other point of view.
President Hu Jintao of China was to be accorded the finest of welcomes to the UK: An official hello from the Queen, a carriage ride up the Mall, flanked by the Household Cavalry, and a nice cup of tea (China, we suppose) before getting down to business.
Oh, and then there were the protesters.
The last time the Chinese came on a state visit, in 1999, the police seized banners and blocked demonstrators from seeing Mr Hu's predecessor, Jiang Zemin.
This time, the demonstrators were to be allowed to have their say and a few hundred turned out with more than enough banners (and symbolic gags over their mouths) for most of the passers-by in St James's Park.
Free Tibet campaign
By far the biggest - and loudest - contingent outside Buckingham Palace were the Tibet campaigners, people who believe that China has no role in the territory invaded by the Chinese Red Army half a century ago.
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Maybe they were not really made at China's invasion of Tibet... Maybe they were just a little annoyed at the failed attempt by the British right before the Chinese succeeded.